Modern man is hardly surprised by the diagnosis of "allergy". The disease is widespread throughout the world. It affects people of all ages and genders. Allergists are sounding the alarm about the fact that only every tenth allergy sufferer seeks qualified help from specialists. Many naively believe that the disease is manifested only by a small rash on the skin.
This is a delusion. The consequences of an allergic reaction can be very severe, requiring serious and prolonged treatment. There are many varieties of this disease - pollen and animal hair, household chemicals and medicines, sun and frost, construction dust and insect bites, etc. Is it possible to be allergic to meat? We will try to answer this question in this article.
Features of the disease
Abnormal sensitivity of the body to various products is called a food allergy by experts. One of its most common varieties is meat allergy. It contains a large amount of protein that activates the production of immunoglobulin in blood cells.
An allergic reaction to meat is a pathological condition that is associated with impaired immunity that reacts to protein compounds as dangerous substances. The impaired protective function of the body cannot neutralize animal protein. As a result, there is an active release of histamine into the blood. This is what causes an allergic reaction.
Meat allergy is often cross - it can be combined with intolerance to related products. For example, an allergy to beef is often combined with a negative reaction to cow's milk. People who are allergic to chicken meat may not be able to tolerate chicken eggs.
Interestingly, this type of allergy occurs even in animals, for example, in dogs. We will talk about this a little later.
Allergy Causes
The main cause of an allergic reaction is the albumin protein found in the muscle tissue of animals. It dissolves well in liquids and coagulates under the influence of high temperatures. Much less often, gamma globulin causes an allergy to meat. Its rejection occurs with excessive sensitivity of the body, as a result, immunoglobulin is produced. Some patients develop intolerance to all meat products, but more oftenpeople are allergic to certain types of meat (pork, beef, lamb, etc.).
Meat rarely causes allergies after heat treatment, and the use of smoked meats, as well as poorly fried and s alted meat, significantly increases the risk of developing a negative reaction. During the cooking of the product, the main part of the protein compounds, including albumin, is destroyed in it. Allergy to meat is most often associated with a genetic predisposition to such reactions. It affects people who from childhood had a tendency to various forms of this disease. Quite often, this reaction occurs in people who are allergic to animal hair.
When there is no hereditary predisposition, the development of pathology can be associated with a decrease in immunity. A negative reaction to meat often occurs in people who have suffered severe chronic and infectious diseases, as well as after a long course of antibiotic treatment.
Sometimes the cause of an allergic reaction lies in the toxins that accumulate in muscle tissue. To accelerate the growth of animals on some farms, special additives are introduced into the feed, which are deposited and stored in the muscles.
Types of reactions
Chicken meat is considered safe in terms of allergies, although it contains animal protein, which is a powerful provocateur of such a reaction. This type of allergy most often occurs in children at an early age, since chicken is included in complementary foods for babies. Pediatricians say that an allergy to chicken that occurs at an early age inchild with age passes without treatment. The reaction to the meat of this bird is also manifested by the rejection of eggs, it is diagnosed simply, visually, at home.
Beef is considered the safest of the coarse-grained varieties. Veal, which is a light natural protein product, is suitable for therapeutic diets.
Turkey is hypoallergenic meat. It is characterized by a lack of susceptibility in different age groups. This allows you to include it first in complementary foods for babies. A possible allergy to turkey meat can be caused by growth stimulants, various hormonal agents that are used to speed up the growth of poultry.
Rabbit meat is also suitable for a strict diet. Allergic reactions develop extremely rarely after its use. When determining the reasons for the reaction to rabbit meat, the presence of animal protein and other feed additives was revealed.
Risk group
The most common allergy to meat in a child. An incompletely formed baby's body is easily susceptible to the negative effects of an allergen. There is a high probability of developing the disease in infants, which are gradually transferred to normal nutrition. In the case when parents neglect the recommendations and advice of a pediatrician, introduce meat into the diet before the due age or in large quantities, the occurrence of an acquired allergy is quite likely. In babies older than a year, pathology occurs in children whose diet includes too many meat products and smoked meats.
A special risk group should includepeople with a genetic predisposition to food allergies. Quite often, in families where one of the parents is diagnosed with an allergy to meat, children are born with such a pathology. The risk that the baby will develop an allergy is also present in the presence of other types of food allergies in the mother or father.
Significantly less often this disease develops in an adult. As a rule, this is due to the inclusion of an excessive amount of protein in the diet (meat, eggs, milk). In this case, the immune system is regularly under heavy load. With an increased concentration of protein in the blood, the brain signals danger and antibodies are produced.
Meat Allergy: Symptoms
When rejecting any meat products, the respiratory, cardiovascular and digestive systems suffer, metabolism is disturbed. Quite often, patients develop chronic hypovitaminosis, which is explained by the slow absorption of useful substances by the body.
The first symptoms of the disease occur within an hour after eating meat products. Patients complain of flatulence, nausea, heartburn, vomiting. If first medical aid is not provided, the allergy sufferer's condition worsens: the body temperature rises, accompanied by chills, and dizziness appears. This type of allergy also has external symptoms, which are manifested by a rash in certain areas or throughout the body, bright red spots on the skin, severe itching, peeling.
In the acute course of the disease, an allergy to meat is manifested by urticaria and even Quincke's edema,when the main symptoms are accompanied by a violation of the respiratory system. A person complains of a sore throat, shortness of breath, swelling of the larynx, itching in the nose. There is frequent sneezing, which is accompanied by a severe runny nose. Sometimes there is tearfulness and redness of the eyes.
If medical assistance is not provided in a timely manner, anaphylactic shock may develop. This condition is characterized by arrhythmia, dizziness, loss of consciousness, headache, low blood pressure (hypotension). If such signs appear, the patient should be urgently taken to the hospital, since anaphylactic shock can lead to clinical death.
How this reaction manifests itself in children
In addition to babies, preschoolers and younger schoolchildren suffer from this form of allergy. Experts explain its development either by the genetics of the child, or by the wrong diet. Parents should know that with early diagnosis of the disease and timely treatment, 80% of children manage to overcome the disease by about ten years.
Allergy to meat products in infants is often associated with malnutrition of the mother. A woman who often consumes meat products (especially sausages) transmits allergens to the baby with milk. In this case, pediatricians recommend limiting the amount of meat in the diet and giving preference to vegetable proteins.
Meat complementary foods are introduced into the child's diet in strict accordance with the recommendations of the pediatrician. If the baby is allergic to meat in a severe form, you will have to exclude from the dietmost protein foods.
Animal protein rejection is accompanied by the following symptoms in a child:
- intestinal colic;
- burp;
- bloating;
- liquid stool;
- vomit;
- stomach churning;
- bright red, often scaly patches on the face;
- itchy rash on body;
- dry paroxysmal cough;
- drowsy;
- temperature increase;
- lack of appetite;
- tearfulness and capriciousness.
Allergies may not be accompanied by the whole complex of symptoms, sometimes it is characterized by several signs from the list presented. Young parents often attribute these symptoms to colds and try to cure the child with traditional means. This only aggravates the situation, the reaction is stronger and the disease becomes more severe.
To avoid complications, visit your pediatrician at the first sign of doubt. With timely medical assistance, the child's condition will stabilize within a week.
Treatment
An allergist prescribes treatment for any reactions only on the basis of the results of a comprehensive diagnosis. As a rule, it consists of two stages:
- cleansing the body;
- drug therapy.
At the first stage, the efforts of doctors are aimed at cleaning the body of the allergen, as well as preventing its re-entry into the body. The patient is individually developed a diet with restriction of meat products. Doctors believeit is impractical to completely refuse meat, since it contains many useful substances.
To prevent an allergic reaction, you should only eat long-cooked or stewed meat. Moreover, during cooking, the broth should be drained two or three times - most of the allergens dissolve in the liquid.
Used drugs
Drug therapy consists in taking immunomodulators, enterosorbents and antihistamines. To eliminate the signs of an allergic reaction on the skin, patients are prescribed hydrocortisone topical agents and tablets (Claritin, Zirtek).
Strong success is achievable with the use of enterosorbents (activated carbon, "Filtrum", "Polysorb"), immunomodulatory drugs ("Likopid", "Immunofan", "Viferon"), folk remedies (aloe juice, lemongrass, tea from strings and daisies).
Allergies in dogs
Many families have faithful four-legged friends who, as we mentioned at the beginning of the article, can also suffer from intolerance to animal proteins. The most common allergic reaction in dogs is boiled and raw chicken and beef. As a rule, allergies to meat in dogs are more pronounced than in humans. It can be identified by flaky and reddened skin, itching, hair loss and discharge from the ears. In addition, there is indigestion, lacrimation, an unpleasant smell from the mouth. In advanced cases, the disease is accompanied by bronchial asthma and swelling.limbs.
For treatment in veterinary practice, antihistamines, antibiotics, glucocorticosteroids, drugs that relieve lung spasm are used. In addition, ointments and gels, ear drops are used to treat local rashes.
The choice of therapy and drugs is up to the doctor, you should not prescribe your dog a treatment that is effective for people. Today, many manufacturers produce hypoallergenic pet food. If your dog is diagnosed, he will have to be transferred to one of them.
